why am i not getting pregnant?
Unpublished post, originally written 3/5/08 for my state of sex education blog on gURL.
Question: My boyfriend and I have been having regular sex and don’t use any protection. We don’t have any infections and are trying for a baby but I’m not getting pregnant and it’s confusing me. Does this mean I can’t have babies?
Answer: Nope, it could actually mean a few different things. I don’t know how long you have been trying, but for a lot of people pregnancy doesn’t happen immediately. In fact, there is only about a 25% chance of getting pregnant each monthly cycle.
Here are a few things that can stand in the way of getting pregnant:
- Not having sex at the right time. Women can only get pregnant when they ovulate (release an egg) or soon after. If you don’t have sex when you ovulate you won’t get pregnant.
- If you went off hormonal birth control recently it could take a while for your cycle to get back to normal.
- Being stressed out can also affect your cycle.
- So can having an eating disorder. This is because women need a certain amount of body fat to menstruate.
- Certain medical conditions (like a man with a low sperm count, or a woman with polycystic ovarian syndrome) can make pregnancy harder.
As you probably know, having a baby is a big deal. You don’t mention how old you are or how long you have been with your boyfriend, but there are a few things you might want to think about before taking the plunge.
According to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy:
- The children of teenage mothers have lower birth weights
- They are more likely to perform poorly in school.
- They are at greater risk of abuse and neglect.
- Teen mothers are less likely to complete high school than girls who aren’t moms (only one-third receive a high school diploma) and only 1.5% have a college degree by age 30.
- Nearly 80 percent of unmarried teen mothers end up on welfare.
- The sons of teen mothers are 13 percent more likely to end up in prison
- The daughters of teen moms are 22 percent more likely to become teen mothers themselves.
Look, being a parent can be wonderful, and there are success stories from young parents. But even the most successful teen moms would probably agree that ensuring a positive outcome is anything but easy.
Whatever you decide, good luck!
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